Eriboll Street

Collective Architecture was commissioned by Loretto Housing Association to develop proposals for a housing development on the former Kingarth House site, situated between Eriboll Street and Balmore Road in Lambhill, North Glasgow. The development includes over 50 units for social rent, managed by Loretto Housing Association. The development also includes an 8-bed Children’s Home, managed by Glasgow City Council Social Work Services.

The aim of the development is to provide much needed homes to the area through the provision of a variety of house types and sizes to cater for the diverse requirements of the community. The development includes large family townhouses, smaller 2 storey houses, and a variety of flats including wheelchair apartments.

The site is within the Lambhill area of North Glasgow and is within the heart of an established existing community surrounded by housing at Eriboll Street / Eriboll Place and at Balmore Road. The site slopes significantly and is home to a number of attractive trees. The new housing has been arranged to acknowledge the sloping topography and recognise the value of the wooded character. Collective Architecture sought to retain as many existing trees as possible within the development and provide ‘stepped’ houses to address the changes in level. New outdoor play equipment knits itself in an around the existing trees to be as informal as possible.

The 8 bed Children’s Home was integrated within the site by maintaining and mimicking the size and proportion of the adjacent larger family homes. Formally, the development maintains similar building lines and associated palette of materials to ensure the Children’s Home is united and assimilated with the surrounding housing. A low key visual presence can aid the integration of young residents into the community by ensuring their home and surroundings remain domestic in character and nature.

Form and materiality create interest and variation within the development. Low profile houses towards Eriboll Street are punctuated by taller towers at the 3 storey houses. Alternating roof profiles along this row are complemented by the angled geometry of the flatted blocks they face onto. Angles on the flatted blocks feature fully enclosed sun-spaces for each of the upper floor flats. These south facing spaces accentuate the internal and external corners of the blocks geometry and provide valuable private external space. The sun-spaces can be fully opened to transform into balconies, providing connection to the open space below.

Unique roof profiles, angled walls and interesting pockets within the massing create terraces, recessed entrances and sunspaces. These add interest to the elevations and overall massing and density and require a material treatment which compliments and enables these spaces to function.